March 11, 2010

Jihad Jane Hearts Anwar al-Awlaki

For the past two years I've been arguing that the spiritual focus of the English speaking eHadi world has moved from clerics such as Omar Bakri Mohammad to Anwar al-Awlaki. Following the links in one of our posts, Steve Emerson notes that Jihad Jane -- like most of her online friends (hi Abu Fatima!) -- was also a fan:

An Internet search, however, reveals that this same person is listed as a 'friend' on YouTube's Anwar Awlaki Lectures Channel. Awlaki is the American-born cleric now living in Yemen and considered a charismatic influence over jihadis. Awlaki was in communication with Nidal Malik Hasan before the Fort Hood massacre and is suspected of encouraging failed Christmas Day airline bomber Umar Abdulmutallab.

Also, let me echo Howie's sentiment: I'm tired. Behind the scenes here I've been getting a ton of media requests. And that's time consuming, with little payoff. So, if you have a tip be sure and email us -- it'll save me some time and it helps.